The Return of American Manufacturing Demands a Chief Health & Benefits Officer (CHBO) to Fix Benefits Procurement

By MATT McCORD

American manufacturing is making a comeback. Driven by tariffs, supply chain instability, and shifting economic priorities, companies are reshoring production—reinvesting in U.S. labor and operations.

But there’s one major obstacle still standing in the way: the crushing cost of American healthcare.

For decades, U.S. employers have overpaid for healthcare without improving outcomes. Ballooning insurance premiums bloated administrative costs, and an opaque, middleman-driven system have left businesses with the highest healthcare costs in the world—twice as much as top global competitors.

If manufacturing is returning, shouldn’t we be demanding a more efficient and productive healthcare model to support it? The same industries that once offshored to escape labor costs must now confront the reality that the old way of buying healthcare is broken.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) & The Growing Fiduciary Risk

The game has changed. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 imposes strict new fiduciary requirements on employers that sponsor health plans. Companies can no longer blindly trust big insurance carriers or PBMs to act in their best interest.

If businesses fail to properly manage their healthcare spend, they are now liable for excessive costs, lack of transparency, and conflicts of interest.

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